


Off the path

by M_Moonshade



Category: BioShock Infinite
Genre: Bioshock Infinite: Burial at Sea, Gen, Major Spoilers, Mentions of Blood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-17
Updated: 2014-05-17
Packaged: 2018-01-25 12:11:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1648193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/M_Moonshade/pseuds/M_Moonshade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What Elizabeth saw after the end of Burial at Sea.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Off the path

Her eyes drift shut, and she can finally see the doors-- all of them, all at once-- and she can see behind them all. Some of those possible futures are dark. Grim. Bleeding with injustice and despair.

Despite what other people say, failure has always been an option.

But now a new constant has been added, and new paths unfold at her feet. They aren’t without their twists and snarls, but they glimmer with hope. Justice. The chance for redemption and love.

Those doors are unlocked.

Her work is finished. She turns away.

But she is not alone.

A man kneels at her side, across from Sally, but unseen by the little girl. His body is sharp and ropy with muscle, his hands rough from years of hard work, but he is nothing short of gentle as he gathers her into his arms.

“Booker?” she rasps. His hair is dark and flecked with gray, his face clean-shaven. This is not Comstock. She squeezes her eyes shut and buries her head in his shoulder. “I missed you.”

“I missed you, too,” he says, and he carries her off the branching paths, out of reach of blood and guilt. Constants and variables.

“I’m… dead. Every version of me.” That is a new constant.  

He does not offer his condolences. He does not weep. He does not mention that his future is equally devoid of variables.

He just stops. Lowers her back to her feet. Her heels are no longer blistered from sneaking around in heels. Her vision no longer blurs red. Her face is bloodless, clean, unbruised from an aborted lobotomy. For the first time since she was a child, she feels whole.

Booker smooths her hair and smiles. It’s an expression she’s only ever seen on him once, in a dusty basement with a guitar in his hand.

“I know, Elizabeth. But I’m so proud of you.”

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this mostly for my own benefit, because that ending ripped my heart out all over again. It's my only Bioshock fic, so please forgive me if it's not up to snuff.


End file.
